EDUCATION
WANTED: More Women in Executive
MBA Programs
H
ow can Wall Street get itself out of Because it pays to draw women to
the current financial crisis? They EMBA programs, many business
can start by putting more women schools are making themselves more
at the helm. According to the latest attractive. They’re recruiting more
research, companies with female board female faculty, featuring more women
members traditionally outperform in advertising materials, offering flexi-
those without, and 80 percent of pur- bility through online courses, and try-
chasing decisions in the U.S. are made ing to make more EMBA scholarships
by women. available.
If this is true, why aren’t more qual- A Return on Your EMBA Investment
ified women attaining business leader- There are numerous reasons why it can
ship positions? To date, only 15.7 per- pay to earn an EMBA, not the least of
cent of Fortune 500 corporate officers which is that it can enhance your abili-
are women. ty to identify with and court clients.
This may be partly due to the dis- The MBA credential offers a boost to
mal enrollment among women in Exec- shunning EMBA programs include: your confidence and credibility with
utive MBA (EMBA) programs. So busi- difficulty finding money to cover the colleagues, which can ensure others
ness schools are actively courting cost of the program, the perception that you have the expertise needed to
women, by addressing some of the that the glass ceiling may keep real take on more responsibility.
stumbling blocks that have traditional- advancement at bay, a lack of female Not to mention the salary boost. The
ly kept women from pursuing the role models, a lack of encouragement Executive MBA Council says that in
degree. from peers, family or employers, as 2007, students surveyed reported a 21
well as a lack of confidence in their percent salary increase after complet-
The Work/Life Balance own math skills. ing their EMBA, and 43 percent of stu-
The Wall Street Journal reports that What Women Have, B-Schools Want dents received promotions while still
the nation’s EMBA programs are only Universally, businesses and business enrolled in their EMBA programs.
comprised of 20 percent females. schools alike agree that a diverse pop- An EMBA can provide you with
EMBA courses generally run full days ulation of men and women is extreme- numerous valuable tools, including the
on weekends, to accommodate those ly valuable. This diversity can enhance know-how to assess risk, harvest inno-
anxious to complete degrees while fellow students’ experiences by vative ideas, forecast market behavior,
managing full-time work schedules. increasing the pool of skills and ideas and effectively market products. Plus,
For many women who see weekends available, enabling greater networking those female entrepreneurs looking for
as family time, the EMBA is fairly opportunities, leveling the playing investment capital or angel funding
unappealing. field in the workplace, and producing may likely find that investors are far
It’s a work/life balance that women qualified candidates who may be more more receptive to those backed by an
are increasingly seeking and, perhaps likely to identify with businesses’ MBA education.
mistakenly, believing that EMBA pro- intended consumers. So while the sacrifice of time and
grams and the corporate fast track Traditionally, the “feminine” traits money may at first seem overwhelm-
won’t offer. However, the EMBA may of emotional engagement, altruism, ing, EMBA programs are becoming
offer more of such a balance than tradi- and cooperation have been perceived more and more accessible and attrac-
tional programs, because it can prepare as weak and therefore less valuable in tive than they’ve ever been, and with
women for career advancement more the profit-and-loss corporate world. the return on investment this degree
quickly, without causing them to lose Yet it’s these traits that, in a struggling provides, now might be just the right
ground at work. economy, are vital to finding and time to look into it. PWM
Other reasons many women cite for building relationships with customers. Source:
articlesbase.com
54 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN’S MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE
www.professionalwomanmag.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68